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Houston Footlights presents Murder at the Maner

The members of the Upper Dorking Amateur Dramatic Society from England don't shy away from a challenge even though they probably should. The sheer scale of their ambition in producing Murder at the Maner is matched only by their incompetence.

Despite their enthusiasm, the production is blighted by a series of disasters and the curse of Amateur Dramatics strikes again. Scenery falls down, cues are missed and the cast struggle to remember their lines. Throughout this adversity, they soldier on, determined to provide a good evening out for their audience, but reveal more about their incompetence rather than the plot.

Set in England, 1927 and with preparations underway for the wedding of the decade, the groom is found dead. Was it suicide or was it murder? Could it have been his brother, the fiancée or the maid? Everyone has a motive and everyone is a suspect in a classic whodunit farce.

Murder at the Maner is the first production from Houston Footlights. The company was founded by Ashley Wright, whose previous movie credits include the role of Ali in Phyllida Loyd's Mamma Mia and Patricia in Gary Winick's Letters to Juliet; and Nicholas Abrams, production manager for the Houston Fringe Festival and technical manager for C-Venues at the Edinburgh Fringe.

Houston Footlights aims to help young adults with a love of theater. Students are trained in all aspects of theatrical production and help run the company.